Public liability insurance for startups]

In case your startup causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property
• injury or illness caused by your startup business
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

For example:

• you’re in a shared office space with your laptop plugged in at the wall. Someone walks past and trips over your cable, breaking their wrist
• you accidentally knock a bottle of water over a client’s laptop, damaging the keyboard

What you’ll need additional cover for

• if you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case something happens to an employee while working for your startup.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an injury or illness that comes as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

• you’ve asked a developer on your team to carry some equipment into a meeting room – they trip over a loose floor tile and break their arm
• your assistant gets an electric shock when they unplug some equipment from your desk set-up, injuring their hand and arm

Professional indemnity insurance for a startup

In case there’s a claim for negligence, or breaches in your duty of care.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• advice which turns out to be incorrect
• mistakes in your work that cost others money to fix

For example:

• just after launching, another brand accuses you of copying their logo design and you need to defend yourself in court
• your client data is hacked while you’re using a shared workspace, and a claim is brought against you for the breach

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like your phone or tablet are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• theft, flood, fire, or accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your business, rather any specialist trade tools you take out and about
• operational equipment like your laptop, office printer, and phone

For example:

• you’ve just moved into a new office space and taken delivery of five employee laptops, which are stolen during an overnight break-in
• you drop two tablets on a restaurant’s marble floor, damaging both beyond repair

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of your trade tools and specialist professional equipment

For example:

• an employee you’ve just hired steals brand new equipment from your workshop
• you’re commuting to a client meeting and leave your bag on the train, losing the kit inside

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to the stock and materials you keep in supply.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of your work materials, stock, or items you’re planning to sell

For example:

• a fire in your workshop damages your orders and a large stock order, which will need replacing
• the marketing materials you’ve ordered for a trade show are stolen from your locked site unit

Read more about stock insurance

Business interruption insurance

In case your startup can’t trade, because of things like theft or damage.

What’s typically covered by business interruption insurance?

• your business income, if you can’t trade because your stock, contents, or buildings are damaged or stolen

For example:

• a storm damages your shared workspace, and your team are forced to work from home for a week, without the right IT equipment and set-up
• all of the stock you’ve prepared for a the busy Christmas season is stolen, and you need to close until it’s replaced

Read more about business interruption insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you and your startup face legal costs.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs attributed to your startup
• property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
• access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you protect your startup’s reputation

For example:

• you need to pay legal fees when an employee is injured at work, and brings a claim against you
• the courtyard garden you use as a reception space is vandalised and you need to raise an expensive legal claim

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• accidental injury or death at or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you fall down some stairs in your office, breaking your ankle which will require two rounds of surgery and time off active work
• your business partner suffers concussion while on holiday and needs time out for tests and recovery

Read more about personal accident insurance

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does business insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider self employed insurance or limited company insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.